


The Snake and the Eagle

by RegalMisfortune



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: (I am sorry), (I am very tired so I may have messed up these tags), AU, I tried my hand at fluffmance at least, Summer Festivals, brief mention of a possible bear's head, it's probably terrible but oh well, masquerade festival, mentions of Honeydew, mentions of Kirindave, mentions of Lalna - Freeform, mentions of Nanosounds, mentions of Parvis, very beginnings of Ridgephos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 21:50:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3666525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalMisfortune/pseuds/RegalMisfortune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Summer Festival, traditionally thought to be a day where the gods themselves mingled amongst the mortals, is an evening of enjoying fine food and company, all whistle hidden under masks and costumes. A foreigner from across the sea has only been residing near the town since spring, and it will be his first festival ever. What unfolds would make this festival the one he remembers for a lifetime, even if he doesn't realize it at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Snake and the Eagle

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of a warm-up for a more hopefully productive weekend! My reading through the entirety of the Ridgephos tag is paying off!  
> Title by a dragon friend, brief idea by a popcorn friend, both from chats on Skype and on tumblr. 
> 
> I also have a tumblr, in case anyone wanted to know. :3
> 
> Also if there any any errors, random line breaks, and just wonky layout, please tell me! I'll fix them as soon as I can! Thank you!

“A festival?”

Xephos lifted his head, tilting it back so he could see the other more clearly from his squatted position beside the rows of snap beans. As a foreigner to these parts, there were many customs and traditions that Xephos did not know about. Hell, he barely knew the language when he first arrived a scant three months ago- only knowing the basics of “please”, “thank you”, “yes”, and “no” to help him get by. It had been hard to get by with knowing that, as the native populace of the land eyed him with scorn and mistrust, judging him on his heavily accented words and sharp features. He couldn’t even begin to count how many inns and villages he had been kicked out of before he managed to find himself on the doorstep of a large farm during the middle of a large rainstorm.

Sjin had been the best thing that had happened to Xephos since he left his homeland far to the east across the wild waters of the sea. The kind bearded farmer had taken one look at the disheveled and soaked appearance of the foreigner and immediately invited him in without question. Without any money, any supplies, and anywhere else to go, Xephos had ended up being taken under the farmer’s wing, taking up residence in one of the spare rooms of the farmhouse. He didn’t want to intrude, feeling as if he was taking advantage of Sjin’s hospitality, but the bushy-faced man simply laughed and waved off any stuttering argument from Xephos.

His stay at the farm did not go unnoticed by the citizens of the town a few minutes’ walk away. Their response was a mix of uncertainty and dislike. They were getting used to his presence, or he assumed so. At least they just outright ignored him now instead of spitting at him or making remarks when they saw him like they had done previously.

There were a few members of the populace who, like Sjin, did not treat him like some sort of insect or dirty beggar. There was a short, stocky man with the brightest orange beard he had ever seen who worked at the quarry not too far from town whom Xephos didn’t believe had an evil bone in his body. He treated Xephos like a long lost friend every time he saw him, nearly breaking the foreigner’s ribs whenever he dragged the much taller man into a bear hug in greeting. He meant no harm, all smiles and cheer, and Xephos enjoyed the simple banter that the shorter man provided.

The clockmaker and his assistant were also on cordial speaking terms with Xephos as well, but that was less like that they wanted to be friendly and more likely that Xephos knew quite a bit about the more technical gear work and tinkering that Lalna and Nano did instead of fixing clocks for most of their day. The eastern lands that Xephos hailed from had more technical advances than these western shores, and the clockmaker seemed eager to experiment and expand his knowledge on the subject. Translation was still a bit tricky, but Xephos was learning more words to describe the finer details of the subject to the ever curious pair.

His interaction was limited, however, as his time was mostly restricted to helping out on the farm. Sjin had told him repeatedly that he didn’t have to, but Xephos was adamant. If he was going to abuse Sjin’s hospitality, then he was going to at least repay him. Sjin had done so much for him; giving him a place to stay, food to eat, even helping him develop his ever expanding internal dictionary to help him understand this new and confusing land, and Xephos would be damned if he didn’t do something to return the kindness.

That day Sjin had been describing the culture of the native peoples of this land; a topic that fascinated Xephos. The talk of different gods that interacted with the populace was a strange concept to the foreigner. Gods themselves was an unfamiliar topic, as religion and higher beings was not taught nor tolerated from the lands Xephos was from, his people too bound by logic and reason to see the possibility of divinity. Here it was something widely believed- and even feared- as the many deities were known to both assist and trick the mortals that worshiped them. It was a novelty to Xephos, and he listened intently to Sjin as he rambled on about them. But amongst the endless tides of information, one word stuck out to Xephos, and he couldn’t help but interrupt the farmer.

“Yeah!” Sjin exclaimed, leaning against the shaft of the hoe he had in his hand as his eyes glinted down at his farmhand. “The Summer Festival is held every year! It’s a time we celebrate our success thus far through the year, meet up with old and new friends, eat delicious food and dance to music! Tradition says that this time of year the gods leave their lofty thrones and come mingle with the mortals for that one night, so to make sure they blend in we all have to dress up in costumes and masks representing animals! It’s a time where we all just let go of our daily tasks and relax and let loose a little!”

“Do the gods really come?” Xephos inquired, speaking slowly to annunciate the words correctly without his accent garbling it up.

“Who knows?” the farmer said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they did! The party here’s the best! We get people from all over just for the wine! And every year there’s a trio who come rolling into town and set off this amazing fireworks display!”

It did sound like fun, Xephos mused, a shadow of a smile creeping onto his face. Parties were rare back home; they were all business and politics, with no time for fun, and it bled into everyday life as well.

“When is the festival?” the foreigner asked, eager to know how long he would have to wait to see this fun night for himself.

  
“It’s-“ Sjin began, but then stopped, his face paling behind his whiskers. “Oh shoot! It’s next week, and you don’t have a costume! Some people spent all year working on them to get it to perfection! Ooooh! I think I can scrounge up something for you! I might have pieces of my old ones, but most of them I had to throw out because they got stained or ruined…”

Xephos frowned, his brow creasing as he lost himself in thought. His eyes drifted towards a fenced pasture, spotting a familiar flicker of bright yellow of the strange large birds called chocobos strut about the yard. An idea formed in his mind, and he turned to smile apologetically towards Sjin. “Do you think I can take the rest of the week off?”

\--

“Wow…” Sjin breathed, staring at Xephos’ costume. The foreigner had spent the remaining days up to the festival making his costume for the event. Sjin had let him borrow any materials that he needed, and Xephos took him up on the offer. The end result was a cloak made of leather he had dyed a bright scarlet and then cut and attached into a pattern of scales. It was hemmed in the beautiful golden chocobo feathers, as well as a golden strip from the tip of the hood down the center of the back to give it a ridged appearance. The mask was also made of scarlet scaled leather, although he had dyed the outlining scales and around the eyes a yellow to closely match the bright sheen of the feathers. It was a mostly full mask, all except for the area around his mouth and chin, leaving the mask to jut down sharply like fangs. With the mask on and the hood pulled up over his dark locks, it was impossible to tell that this tall gangly man was the foreigner that had been residing in the town since spring.

Xephos liked the cloak, especially since its length hid the tattered shirt and trousers he wore underneath and his bandaged fingers from all the mishaps he had with cutting the leather and sewing them together. Its vibrant color also drew the eyes away from his less than respectable appearance underneath, as it was proven by Sjin, whom was running his fingers over the faux scales.

“I would’ve thought you’d made this two months, not a week!” Sjin stated in awe.

“Yours is nice as well,” Xephos murmured, shifting as he smiled shyly at the farmer. Indeed Sjin did look good in his own attire. He was lined with soft white rabbit fur, fluffing about his neck and shoulders. His looked more like artistic armor than anything, exposing bare skin in places and his mask being a redesigned helmet that sported both horns and metal that was bent to look like rabbit ears. Sjin had tried to explain what a jackalope was to Xephos, but the concept of the strange creature was lost on Xephos.

“Are you some sort of snake-creature?” Sjin asked, still admiring the handiwork that Xephos had done on it.

“Yes” the foreigner began, trying to find the right words. “I took… artistic…liberty?” he questioned, glancing over at Sjin to see if he said it right. From Sjin’s grin and nod, he did.

“Well then, Mister Scarlet Snake,” Sjin stated, the shorter man placing his hands on the foreigner’s back and began to lightly push him forward. “Time to get this show on the road!”

The streets were already packed with people when they arrived. Each street and alley was lined with flickering lights. Most of the buildings’ doors were open to the public, the main floors cleared for tables and chairs where food, games, and drinking was to be had. Music filtered over the chatter, flowing from the square where colorful bodies twirled and swayed along.

Xephos lingered on the outskirts of the square, watching the others laugh and chat while they danced across the cobblestone in beat with the lively music. He had lost sight of Sjin an hour and a half ago, and few came to speak to him. He did not mind, too enthralled by the sights, smells, and sounds of the festival happening around him to worry about the lack of interaction with others. The thought of him being able to stand here amongst these people in disguise and not be looked upon with scorn for his heritage did tickle in the back of his mind, but that too was brushed aside by the overall excitement bubbling inside as he gazed about and admiring everyone else’s costumes.

It was easy to tell who could afford more expensive materials than others, but that did not seem to deter anyone from enjoying their night with friends and strangers alike. Xephos had seen a tall figure with horns of both a ram and a deer painted bright blue that seemed to glow in the flickering torchlight and wearing what could only be dark silk speaking to a shirtless man covered in red paint and a what looked like a real bear head jammed on his head speaking to each other on the other side of the square, and neither of them appeared to be disgusted or uncomfortable with their differences in attire and fashion.

Xephos leaned against the cool stone of the wall behind him, watching and admiring the festival as it carried on around him. He was so entranced by the colorful swirling of the dancers that he failed to notice someone approach him until his vision was blocked by soft brown and bright gold.

Blinking, Xephos refocused his gaze to the person before him. They wore a long coat, reaching down to their polished boots, the long fabric made of brown feathers. Golden buttons and silken trim were fashioned on the coat as well, brightening the soft down. The coat was open to reveal a crisp white shirt, also appearing to be made of silk and mother-of-pearl buttons. Lifting his eyes further he found an intricate half mask with a sharp eagle beak as a nose, leaving the lower half of the man’s face exposed. A lopsided smile was on the uncovered lips, auburn strands of a beard on his chin that matched the wavy, but perfect locks on his head. Golden eyes glistened behind the mask, the lights of the festival giving them the illusion of luminescence.

“Care for a dance?” The velvety voice that left the eagle-masked man’s lips shook Xephos out of his staring at the golden eyes, blinking rapidly at the man.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Care for a dance?” the man repeated, his smile never fading or twisting at the corners in a joking manner. Xephos looked back up at the man’s eyes, finding no falsehood in the golden orbs.

“I...isn’t that…” he winced at how his accent thickened, the oddness of the situation causing him to become uneasy as he struggled to grasp the correct word. “…improper?”

A chuckle escaped the eagle-masked man, the smile remaining calm and kind, as did the eyes. “It is the Summer Festival, my charming snake,” he said, offering a hand up to the foreigner. “There are no judgments to be made here on this eve.”

  
Xephos fidgeted, nerves twisting inside his gut as he glanced down from the beautiful eyes to the offered hand, the flesh uncovered to show off perfectly groomed fingernails.

“I don’t know how to dance,” Xephos managed to whisper, the words grating on his ears as his accent butchered his speech. Despite his words he lifted his own bandaged fingers and placing it inside the other man’s hand.

  
The perfect fingers curled around his, warm and gentle as the eagle-masked man softly pulled Xephos closer towards the center of the square. “It’s quite alright. I will teach you.”

The musicians had stopped playing the previous fast-paced song, slowing it down to a smoother melody. The bodies around them also slowed, moving and swaying gently like reeds in the breeze. The other man seemed to have sensed Xephos’ unease with being closer to the other partiers, leading him to a less crowded part of the square.

One of the man’s hands moved, taking Xephos’ free one and placing them on the proper position on the man’s body while his own arm slipped comfortably around the foreigner’s waist, still holding onto the hand that Xephos had first given him. “Relax,” the eagle-masked man breathed into Xephos’ ear, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. “We’ll take this slow.”

Even with going slow, Xephos had trouble keeping up. He kept his eyes on his feet, doing his best to avoid stepping on the brightly polished shoes of his dance partner.

“Don’t look at your feet,” the eagle-masked man murmured, his tone holding not a trace of scolding as he corrected the foreigner. Xephos did as he was told, nervous blue eyes peering up at bright gold. It only took that brief moment for Xephos’ foot to miss a step and set his heel straight down onto the other man’s toes.

  
“ _Sentitzen dut!_ ” The native words fell off of Xephos’ tongue before he could contain himself, especially as he watched his dance partner’s lower face twist in a wince and a slight grunt escape him. “ _Oso sentitzen naiz_!”

The man’s grimace melted back into the gentle smile, his thumb softly rubbing over the foreigner’s fingers. “It’s alright. It is not the first time nor the last time my toes will be treaded on, and by much heavier persons too.” His lips quirked, as if he had just spoken a jest amongst his words, but the meaning was lost on Xephos, whose face was flushed with embarrassment and his eyes were back down to staring at his feet.

  
The hand on Xephos’ waist shifted, rising to nudge under his chin. “Hey now, don’t hide those pretty eyes,” the eagle-masked man said, gently pressing against the foreigner’s chin until he let the other man lift his head so their eyes would meet. A soft smile played at the corner of the auburn haired man’s lips, his golden eyes not mocking as he stared into Xephos’ shy gaze.

“There you are,” the man whispered, the golden eyes searching Xephos’ eyes. There was something in the eagle-masked man’s features, but it was undefinable to the foreigner, who could only stare up at him, unfamiliar emotions bubbling inside his chest mixing in with the nerves and confusion of the situation at hand.

  
The music had slowed to a stop now, and all the other dancers had stopped to clap, being joined in by those who circled around the square to listen in. The sound startled Xephos, his eyes flickering around in confusion before he noticed that the song had ended. A small sigh escaping his dance partner drew his eyes back to the eagle-masked man. The other man’s hand that had been resting under his chin moved once again, rising to push Xephos’ hood back to expose dark curls and bare forehead before he leaned closer, placing soft lips against the uncovered flesh.

Xephos stared, wide-eyed as the man gently tugged the hood down again, leaning back to smile one last time at the foreigner. The music had picked up, much louder and vibrant, and as the colored bodies began to swirl about them the eagle-masked man finally let go of Xephos’ hand, stepping back to disappear amongst them with nary a trace of his previous existence, leaving the foreigner as the still constant amongst the moving tide of color.

**Author's Note:**

> PS: Xephos is speaking Basque. I just threw words into Google Translate, so apologies if they're incorrect!


End file.
